Saint Mary of Valencia Cathedral

The Cathedral of Valencia (Metropolitan Basilica Cathedral), commonly known as the "Seu" in Catalan, is the see of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Valencia and is dedicated by order of James I the Conqueror to Saint Mary. The church was consecrated in 1238 by the first bishop of Valencia Pere d'Albalat. It was built upon the mosque, which in turn had been raised in place of the former Visigothic cathedral. Gothic architecture, in its Catalan or Mediterranean version, is the predominant style of this cathedral, although it also contains Romanesque, French Gothic, Renaissance art, Baroque and neoclassical elements. One of the supposed Holy Grails, present around the world, is revered in one of this cathedral's chapels; this grail has been defended as the true Holy Grail; indeed, most Christian historians all over the world declare that all their evidence points to this Valencian chalice as the most likely candidate for being the authentic cup used at the Last Supper [ [http://www.valenciavalencia.com/sights-guide/holy-grail-valencia.htm The Holy Grail (Santo Caliz) in the Cathedral of Valencia, Spain ] ] . It was the official papal chalice for many popes, and has been used by many others, most recently by Pope Benedict XVI, on July 9, 2006. [Glatz, Carol (July 10, 2006). [http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0603899.htm "At Mass in Valencia, pope uses what tradition says is Holy Grail"] . "Catholic News".] . This chalice dates from the 1st century, and was given to the cathedral by king Alfons el Magnànim in 1436.

Furthermore, this cathedral contains examples of some of the earliest and best Quattrocento paintings of the Iberian Peninsula, which was brought from Rome via artists engaged by the Valencian Pope Alexander VI who, when still a cardinal, made the request to elevate the Valencian See to the rank of metropolitan see, a category granted by Pope Innocent VIII in 1492.

History

Most of Valencia Cathedral was built between the XIIIth century and the XVth, and that is why its style is mainly Gothic. However, its construction went on for centuries. [ In fact this is the origin of a typical Catalan saying in Valencia: "Això és més llarg que l’obra de la Seu” (This is taking longer than building the Cathedral) which refers to something that is never finished (Mira i Casterà, Joan Francesc, pp. 28).] . As a consequence there is a mixture of artistic styles, ranging from the early Romanesque, the subtle Renaissance, the heavy Baroque and the more restrained Neoclassic. This mixture is the most important feature of Valencia cathedral and is what makes it a jewel of universal architecture.

Excavations in the adjacent "Almoina" Archaeological Centre have unearthed the remains of the ancient Visigoth cathedral, which later became a mosque. [ (Simó, Trinidad and Sebastià, Anna, pp. 214) . ] There is documentary evidence that some decades after the Christian conquest of the city (1238), the mosque-cathedral remained standing -even with the quoranic inscriptions on the walls, until the 22 June 1262, when Brother Andreu d'Albalat [ Andreu d'Albalat was brother of the first bishop of Valencia and archbishop of Tarragona Pere d'Albalat, and later he himself was bishop of the Valencian diocese, from 1276 to 1288. This diocese was desired by both the archbishop of Toledo and the archbishop of Tarragona, who eventually took control of it thanks to the support of James I of Aragon, who wanted to preserve their kingdoms' independence from Castilian interferences (Furió, Antoni, pp. 62). ] resolved to knock it down and build a new cathedral in its place, according to the plans of the architect Arnau Vidal. [ Simó, Trinidad and Sebastià, Anna, pp. 214. Hypothetically, the ancient Muslim mosque would correspond with the current transept of the cathedral, the Apostles' gate would be the entrance to the mosque and the Almoina gate the mihrab [http://www.jdiezarnal.com/valenciacatedral.html] .]

Stones from neighboring quarries in Burjassot and Godella were used to build the cathedral, but also from other more distant quarries such as those in Benidorm and Xàbia, which came by boat.

Some reasons for the simplicity and sobriety of the Valencia cathedral are that it was built quickly to mark the Christian territory against the Muslims, and that it was not a work by a king, but by the local bourgeoisie. [ Guarner Sanchis, Manuel, pp. 96-98.]

Constructive evolution

Although there are several styles of construction, this cathedral is is basically a gothic building, with three naves with a transept covered with an octagonal tower (cimbori), with an ambulatory and a polygonal apse. This cathedral began to be built at the end of the thirteenth century (1270-1300) at the same time as the mosque was being demolished. The first part to be finished was the eight-chapel ambulatory, and the Almoina romanesque gate.

Between 1300 and 1350 the transept was finished and its west side went up until the Apostles’ gothic Gate. Three out of the four sections of the naves (the main nave and two secondary naves on either side) were also built. The transept tower ("cimbori" or eight-sided dome) was also begun.

The old Chapter House (today "Holy Grail Chapel") (1356 - 1369), where the canons met to discuss internal affairs, and the Micalet (bellfry) (1381-1425) were initially separate from the rest of the church, but in 1459 the architects Francesc Baldomar and Pere Comte expanded the naves in a further section, known as "Arcada Nova", and finally joined both the chapter house and the Micalet with the rest of the Cathedral, thereby attaining 94 metres in length and 53.65 metres in width.

Centuries of the Renaissance (XV-XVI) had little influence on the architecture of the Cathedral but much more on its pictorial decoration, such as the one at the high altar, and sculptural decoration, such as the one in the Resurrection chapel.

During the Baroque era, the German Konrad Rudolf designed in 1703 the main door of the cathedral, known as the "Iron gate" due to the cast-iron fence that surrounds it. Because of the Spanish Succession War he could not finish it, and this task fell mainly to the sculptors Francisco Vergara and Ignacio Vergara. Its concave shape, which causes a unique and studied perspective effect, was distorted during the twentieth century because of the demolition of some adjacent buildings (in what was formerly Saragossa street) to expand the square ("plaça de la Reina").

A project to renew the building was launched during the last third of the eighteenth century, whose intention was to give a uniform neoclassical appearance to the church, different from the original gothic style, that was then considered a vulgar work in comparison. Works started in 1774, directed by the architect Antoni Gilabert Fornés. The reshuffle affected both constructive and ornamental elements: the pinnacles were removed outside, and the gothic structure masked by stucco and other pseudo-classical elements.

In 1931 the church was declared a historic and artistic landmark by the Spanish government, but during the Spanish Civil War it was burned, which meant that it lost part of its decorative elements. The chorus, located in the central part, was dismantled in 1940 and moved to the bottom of the high altar. The organs, which had suffered major damage during the war, were never rebuilt.

Also in 1970, the Houses of Canons, a building attached to the chapels facing "Micalet" street, were demolished to give the cathedral back its previous appearance, and at the same time elements of little or no architectural value were removed.

The task of removing the neoclassical elements in order to recover the original gothic aspect was undertaken in 1972. The only neoclassical elements spared were most of the ambulatory chapels, and some isolated elements, such as the sculptures at the base of the dome ("cimbori").

After several restaurations, the Cathedral is currently in a good state of preservation, especially after the exhibition of 1999 named "The Image’s Light" [http://www.laluzdelasimagenes.com/] . The temple was once again declared a cultural landmark, this time by the regional Valencian government (Consell de la Generalitat Valenciana).

References

Further reading

* [http://www.gothicmed.com/gothicmed/GothicMed/virtual-museum/comunidad-valenciana/Valencia/Catedral.html Comunidad Valenciana. The Santa Maria metropolitan basilica cathedral] GothicMed. A virtual museum of mediterranean gothic architecture.
*http://www.virtourist.com/europe/valencia/05.htm
*http://www.planetware.com/valencia/cathedral-e-val-valcat.htm
* [http://www.valenciavalencia.com/sights-guide/sights-listings/cathedral.htm Tourist Fact-sheet on Valencia Cathedral]

Links

* [http://www.catedraldevalencia.es Official website of Saint Mary of Valencia Cathedral, The Holy Grail Cathedral]